Sparkyville, USAEpisode 2: Settling In
by HPDrummerman
Summary: Charlie Brown settles in as he begins his work at the Sparkyville recruitment center for the Marines. He is assigned two Lance Corporals whom one of them he knows, as it is his old swim partner Cormac. Pig Pen and Frieda go out on the town. And Sally gets an internship at Gray Industries, which the COO is none other than Violet Gray, her brother's old tormentor.
1. Chapter 1

Episode 2: Settling In

**CHAPTER 1: CHARLIE AND CORMAC REUNITED**

Charlie was waiting in his office for his two lance corporals to arrive. He was glad he was going to have help with recruitment into the Marines. He sipped his coffee as his secretary chimed in on his speakerphone.

"Sgt. Brown?" said the secretary.

"Yes, Julia?" answered Charlie.

"Lance Corporal Ray and Lance Corporal Jennings are here."

"Send them in." Charlie stood up to greet the two lance corporals. As they entered, one of them looked familiar to Charlie. They were dressed in their dress uniforms. They stood at attention.

"Corporals," greeted Charlie.

"Yes, sir!" said both lance corporals.

"State your names."

"Lance Corporal Kevin Ray reporting, sir!"

"Lance Corporal Cormac Jennings reporting, sir!"

"At ease. Cormac? Did you go to Birchwood Elementary School, by chance?"

"Yes, I did, Sarge."

"Well it just so happens that we met at camp when we were kids."

"Charles?"

"Yes, it's me, Cormac."

"How have you been?"

"Pretty good. How about this? You actually working for me?"

"I know, right? How's your sister Sally?"

"She's doing fine. In her fourth year of college. I'll tell her you said 'hi'."

"Thanks, sir."

"And where are you from, Kevin?"

"From Portland, Oregon, sir. I trained at San Diego."

"That's were I got my basic training, too. Well boys, we're going to be working close together now. Your job is to help recruit people for the Corps. We will also host recruitment seminars at high schools and conventions that host the military, be it us, the Army, Navy, Air Force. I am pretty easy to work with. Just do what you're told and if a higher up like Colonel Clarke comes to visit, just keep your mouth shut and only speak when spoken to. Today, you're assignment is to host a military assembly at Mendelson High School in Monteville. You got your orders. TEN HUT!" Both lance corporals resumed attention.

"Your dismissed, corporals." Said Charlie.

"AYE, AYE, SIR!" said Kevin and Cormac. They both left his office. Charlie sat back down at his desk.

"This may work."

At Gray Industries, Sally and a bunch of other interns were all in a conference room. Grant Gray and Violet were seated together at the end of the table. They were having an introductory meeting and they were discussing what was expected of all of them.

"Don't hesitate to ask any kind of question," said Grant. "We will be glad to help out in any way. Some of you will work close with me, and some will work closely with my Violet here. Some of you will work in some of the other departments and at some of Gray Industries properties. You show great work ethic and we will send glowing reviews to your professors. Is there any questions?" The people didn't speak. Grant continued, "Well, then, at the bulletin board over there you will see who you are assigned to."

And the interns all went over to the bulletin board. Sally was shocked to see she would be working with Violet. She remembered what Charlie had told her about being careful around Violet. She hoped that Violet would be nicer to her than she was to him. She was never wishy-washy, she wasn't the one who couldn't do anything right growing up, so why would she pick on her, she figured. Little did she know in Violet's mind, just being related to Charlie Brown was enough.

**NEXT CHAPTER: PIG PEN AND FRIEDA MAKE PLANS**


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2: SETTING UP FOR A DATE NIGHT**

Pig Pen and Frieda were lounging around their apartment. He was in his boxers and she was in a crop top and pajama shorts. They were laying on the couch watching TV and eating some popcorn. Both were wanting to do something for the weekend, but had no idea what they wanted to do.

"There's that new movie coming to theaters Friday," Pig Pen suggested.

"Nah," said Frieda. "I'm in the mood for something else."

"We could go to the Bluffs," said Pig Pen. "We've been talking about that for ages. Plus, with that raise I got at work, we can afford it now."

"That's a good idea. But I'd want to do that for a special date. How about we check out that new club downtown?"

"Yeah, we can go out to that club. What's it called?"

"The Bronze Beagle."

"How fitting. Someone should tell Charlie about that."

"Yeah. I wonder if he'll ever get another dog? Snoopy's been gone for a long time now, and I think he could be over it by now."

"I don't think he's over it, per se. Maybe the pain of losing him has subsided over the years."

"Yeah. I can understand losing a pet that was like a friend to you. I cried for weeks after Faron died, remember?"

"I do remember that. You didn't come out of your room for a long time. You only did if you had to go to school or eat."

"Well, I did eventually move on. I still miss my cat, but I know life goes on. Anyway, getting back to what we were talking about, you and me going to the Beagle?"

"Yeah, I'm game, babe!"

"I was hoping you'd say that." And Frieda kissed Pig Pen passionately. They made out on the couch as the movie they were watching continued to play.

At that moment, Linus was coming out of the back of the library storage room when he saw that blonde-haired woman again. She was checking out more books and the clerk was chatting with her a bit. Linus decided to listen in on it.

"So how long have you been back in Sparkyville?" asked the clerk.

"About a few weeks now," said the woman, with a voice as soft and sweet as cotton candy. "I recently finished my terms at UCLA. I'm getting a job at the hospital as a registered nurse soon."

"That's great," said the clerk. "Anyway, here's your books. They are due back in two weeks."

"Thank you," said the woman with a smile. "I'll see you in a couple of weeks." And she left out of the building. Linus went over to the clerk after the woman left.

"Blake," he said, "who is that woman?"

"I didn't get her name," said Blake. "Nice lady, though. Why you ask, Linus?"

"I think I know her, Blake," said Linus. "I just can't place where. At least not at the moment."

**NEXT CHAPTER: OLD FRIENDS GETTING REACQUAINTED**


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3: MORE CATCHING UP**

Charlie was doing some running after work in the park. He always tried to stay in shape with him being a staff sergeant for the Marines. As he was running, he spotted a familiar brunette selling artwork in the park. He immediately recognized her as Eudora, Sally's best friend. He decided to talk to her.

"Eudora!" he greeted.

"Charles?" she responded, surprised to see him. "Franklin told me you had moved back! How are you?" She went to hug him.

"I'm great," said Charlie. "You and Sally still hang out?"

"We do, when she's not busy with school. Franklin takes up my time nowadays. I love him so much, Charles."

"He told me how much you two were in love. So, selling art in the park, huh?"

"Yep. I make some paintings in my spare time when I'm not working at Sunup Eats, the vegan restaurant downtown. You should come in and try some of the food there. For being vegetable-based, it's pretty tasty."

"One of these days, I promise." At that moment, Franklin walked up.

"Hey, Charlie," he greeted. "Hey, Dory!"

"Hi, honey," cooed Eudora, who kissed her boyfriend. "Charles just happened to be in the park."

"I was doing some running when I saw her art stand," said Charlie. "Was catching up a bit when you came up."

"I see," said Franklin. "So are you ready to head back home, Dory?"

"In a few, babe," Eudora answered. "You care to join us for dinner, Charles?"

"Rain check?" said Charlie. "Have to get back home. My parents are leaving Sally and I the house so they can move down to Florida. I have to help them get ready for their journey down there."

"Sure, no problem, man," said Franklin. "We can do this another time."

"Okay, I'll see you two later," Charlie responded.

"Bye, Charles," said Eudora. "Tell Sally to call me."

"I will." And Charlie continued to do his running while Franklin helped Eudora pack up her artwork to take back home.

At an attorney's office, Schroeder was talking to his lawyer, Brandon, about something important. Lucy's parole was in a few months and he didn't want to take a chance on having to deal with her again. Even though Linus had told him that she was a different person, Schroeder wanted to believe him, but couldn't trust Lucy, due to their history. He wanted nothing to do with her ever again, and he wouldn't have mind if she stayed there even longer than she was sentenced, as far as he was concerned.

"Have you talked to the court yet, Brandon?" he asked.

"I did," said Brandon. "While they can't promise that she won't be paroled, they can institute a restraining order against Ms. Van Pelt."

"For how long?"

"As long as you want it to be."

"Can they make it permanent?"

"Yes they can."

"Do it!" And Brandon made some calls to important folks so that the parole board will adhere to Schroeder's request IF Lucy was paroled and released from prison.

**NEXT CHAPTER: FLIRTY, FLIRTY, FLIRTY!**


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4: FRIEDA THE FLIRT**

Pig Pen and Frieda were heading to the Bronze Beagle nightclub. He was dressed in a black button-up shirt with matching pants and shoes, while she was dressed in a hot pink mini-dress with matching stiletto heels. They were in for a fun night out. As they hit the club, they saw a long line at the door.

"Damn!" said Frieda. "And I was wanting to get in, too."

"Relax, babe," said Pig Pen. "We just so happen to know the owner. You remember Shermy?"

"No way!"

"Yep! This is his club! He told me he actually did name it in tribute to Snoopy!"

"Does Charlie know?"

"He told me he did, and gave him his blessing."

"Well let's go in then." And the couple hopped out of their car and went towards the guard. The guard standing by the door was a big, muscular, mountain of a man who intimidated guys who tried to barge in. He spotted Pig Pen and Frieda walking up.

"Are you on the list?" asked the guard.

"Pig Pen and Frieda," said the former dust-magnet.

"Go ahead," said the guard, releasing the velvet rope for them to enter. "Shermy's waiting for you at his private table."

As they entered the club, they were greeted by a fountain. And in the middle of that fountain was a bronze statue of a beagle, resembling Snoopy lying on his doghouse as he used to do. Frieda smiled.

"Charlie would love this tribute," said Frieda.

They continued into the club where the dancefloor was packed. There were even women dancing on high platforms. The bar was on another raised platform. As they looked around they spotted Shermy at a booth in the back. When he spotted Frieda and Pig Pen, he flagged them over. They walked over to see their old friend.

"Hey, you two!" Shermy greeted. "I was wondering if you were coming or not!"

"Shermy, this place is exquisite!" said a happy Frieda.

"So I hear Charlie is back," said Shermy.

"He is," Pig Pen replied. "He's working at the recruitment center for the Marines here in town."

"That's awesome!" said Shermy, smiling. "Next time you see him, ask him to stop by the place."

"Will do," said Pig Pen.

"Hey, babe," said Frieda to Pig Pen, "I really want to dance. You don't mind if I dance a bit?"

"Go right ahead, Frieda," Pig Pen responded. "Shermy and I have some stuff to discuss, anyway." And Frieda headed out to the dancefloor to dance. As she was dancing, a tall guy walked up to her.

"You wanna dance, beautiful?" he asked.

"Absolutely!" said Frieda. And she began dancing with him, even grinding him as they danced. She was all over this guy as they danced together. Pig Pen and Shermy never even glanced towards the dancefloor as she was dancing with this guy. Soon, other guys were dancing with the fiery redhead. Some of these guys came with dates, and to say their dates were jealous of Frieda was an understatement.

Back over at Shermy's table, Pig Pen said, "You hear about Lucy's parole?"

"Are you kidding?" said Shermy. "After what happened between her, Schroeder, and that other intern, Lucy and her impending parole is all anyone has been talking about."

"Well our maestro is in a tizzy about it, for obvious reasons," said Pig Pen.

"Can you blame the guy?" asked Shermy. "After witnessing a colleague of his being beaten to a pulp by a girl who had an unhealthy obsession with him for years, he wanted nothing more to do with Lucy after that! But from what I heard from Linus, she's a totally different person these days."

"Well Schroeder doesn't seem to think so."

"Schroeder, and Charlie, for that matter, has seen the worse in her. Charlie may be a bit more forgiving, but Schroeder doesn't seem to think she can change."

"Well, well, well." They were interrupted by a newcomer, in the form of Violet.

"Speaking of people who never change," muttered Pig Pen.

"Hey, Shermy," cooed Violet. "Looks like you got a packed house tonight."

"I do, Violet," said Shermy.

"So, Pig Pen, what brings you out here?" asked Violet. "Where's Frieda at?"

"On the dancefloor," said Pig Pen. "She'll be back soon, though."

"Oh, I don't know about that, I saw her dancing with a few guys," Violet retorted, with venom in her voice. "You may want to keep your woman in check, is all I'm saying."

"I trust her, Violet!" growled Pig Pen. "YOU, on the other hand, it's up for debate!"

"Hey, cool it, you two!" said Shermy, trying to keep the peace in his establishment. "What DO you need, Violet?"

"Well, rumor has it that our resident failure Charlie Brown is back in town," said Violet, "which the irony isn't lost on me, as I have his dumbass of a sister as an intern at Gray Industries. All I want to know is, is it true he's back?"

"It is, Violet," Pig Pen responded. "And you should know he is a…"

"Complete failure in all senses of the word?" interrupted Violet. "I already knew that, Piggy baby! What I want to know is what has Failure-Face been up to during his exodus from Sparkyville?"

"Well, he's been trying to correct himself," said Shermy. "And he's successfully become a.."

"Bigger loser than before?" Violet interrupted again, causing the men to grow angrier by the minute. Pig Pen, for sure, had enough of Violet's constant interruptions.

"If you must know, Violet, he's no failure anymore!" Pig Pen yelled. "He's a…"

"Colossal failure, right?!" giggled Violet.

"Fucking bitch!" thought Pig Pen to himself. Luckily, Frieda did come back from the dancefloor.

"Oh hi, Violet!" said a cheerful Frieda, not knowing the drama that had unfolded over Charlie's return just moments ago. "When did you get here?"

"Oh, I just arrived, Frieda dear," said Violet. "Was talking to Shermy and your man here about Charlie Brown's return."

"I know right?" said a happy Frieda. "Isn't that great?"

"You have no idea," said Violet, smiling evilly. "Anyway, I'm going to get a drink. Shermy, is Thibault working the bar tonight?"

"Yeah he is," said Shermy.

"Great! Then he can make my usual!" And Violet headed over to the bar to get a drink.

"Well, I say let her wait to see Charlie, Pig Pen," said Shermy. "She will be in for a rude awakening."

"I can drink to that, brother!" said Pig Pen, glaring at Violet. "Wait until she finds out that he's a Marine, and a sergeant to boot!"

**NEXT CHAPTER: BREAKING SALLY IN**


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5: SHOWING HER THE ROPES**

"As you can see, you will be working closely with me, Sally," said Violet the next day at Gray Industries. "If you have any kind of question, don't hesitate to ask."

"Thanks, Violet," said Sally. "I have to admit, I'd never thought you'd be nice to me, given your history with my brother and all."

"Well, let me assure you grudges don't carry over to family members with me, Sally," lied Violet. "Any animosity I have towards your brother will not affect our working relationship one bit."

"Really?"

"Scouts honor!" Violet held her right hand up while crossing her left fingers behind her back. "Right now, I need for you to help one of the other interns with passing out the mail to the workers in the cubicles. After finishing, report back to me for another assignment."

"Yes, ma'am!" And Sally went on her way to help with the mail. Violet smirked with a sinister look on her face.

"I'll go easy on her, for now," she said to herself. "Then I'll hit her with the big artillery!" Little did she know that one of her employees was listening to her talk to herself. The person scribbled on a piece of paper a note. It said, "Must help Sally".

At the Marine Corps recruitment center, Charlie was in his office talking with Colonel Clarke about how things were going so far.

"Have you settled into it, Sergeant?" the colonel asked.

"I have, sir," Charlie responded. "Plus I actually know Lance Corporal Jennings personally."

"Oh?"

"We had met at camp when we were kids. Since I am older than he is, I kind of took on a mentor role with him. It looks like I'm doing it again years later."

"I see. Well I'm sure your men will do fine, Sergeant. I will check in here from time to time."

"Yes, sir!" And Charlie stood at attention and saluted the colonel, who saluted back and then left. Charlie sat back at his desk. He looked at his computer and looked up Ray's Diner. He wrote the address on a notepad. He then put the paper in his shirt pocket, for safe keeping.

_Somewhere in Ireland…_

A motorcycle was riding through the Irish countryside. On it was a woman in her early twenties. She had long brown hair and wore opaque glasses. She also had a fuller figure, not obese or fat, but just a hint of a belly and shapely hips. She was from America, but she had come to Europe to escape an oppressive upbringing.

The woman stopped at a pub outside of Belfast. She took off her helmet and went inside for a drink. As she walked in, she was greeted by the bartender, who knew who she was.

"Ah, Marcie, m' love!" said the bartender, happy to see her. "How ya be, lassy?"

"I'm fine, Sheamus," said Marcie, who grabbed a beer bottle from him that he had ready for her. "Just was taking the bike out for a ride through the countryside for a while. Had to do some thinking."

"About what, may I ask?"

"About back home. Was thinking about two people I knew back there. Sure as fuck wasn't my dick parents, but two other people who were an important part of my life."

"You mean that Patricia gurl and Charles fella?"

"They would be the ones, Sheamus. I feel that I should see them and see how they are. Of course, after my studies here are done."

"I'm actually surprised to see that you chose to go to school here in Ireland, rather than take courses back in the states."

"Well I needed to be as far away from my parents as possible. By the time I turned eighteen, a LEGAL adult, mind you, they STILL wanted to dictate my life. They hand-picked the school they wanted me to go to, and I was like, 'What the actual fuck?'. We had it out after that and then they decided to disown me, which was probably the best thing they had ever done for me. Because I had a scholarship that they couldn't mess with, and I had already chosen to come here for my learning. I had made some new friends here, but as far as my American friends, I do miss them, especially those two. Patty was my best friend in the world, and Charles, well, he was special to me."

"Aye, I get it, Marcie. You were sweet on th' lad."

"I was, Sheamus. Last I talked to him, he had joined the Marine Corps. I hope he made it through all right. And Patty was all but done with school after graduating high school. Last time I talked to her, she was applying at some scuzzy diner on the west side of Sparkyville. We kind of lost touch not too long after I moved here."

"Well, maybe it's time you made some plans to see them."

"I think so, too, Sheamus." And Marcie drank the last bit of beer out of her bottle. She belched loudly. Sheamus laughed hard.

"Ah, I love it when you come in, gurl!" he said with a chuckle.

"I'll always come to see you, Sheamus," said Marcie. "Anyway, thanks for the beer." She pulled out some money to pay him. He stopped her.

"Forget it, Marcie," he said. "Your money's no good here. It's on th' house."

"You know, Sheamus? You are like an actual father to me. You know that? More than my real father."

"I appreciate that, lassy. Ride safely." And Marcie left the pub. She hopped on her motorcycle and headed back to her dorm at the school. She was determined to see her friends again.

**THE END**


End file.
